Always Red
by raphfreak
Summary: One-shot to Favorite Color. Another night...another life taken. A turtle learns that no matter what, a brother will always be remembered because every time he battles, he sees him.


**Hey again! Well, this is a one shot to the poem, Favorite Color so please read that. This is written for a request by fantasyfan17. Hope you enjoy!**

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"Come on bro!" Raph hissed impatiently from the wrong side of the closed door, fingers drumming on the doorframe. His whole body was tense as he starred at the clock on the lair wall; two in the morning, it read. He let out a soft growl.

Mikey promised he wouldn't slow him down. He promised he'd keep it quiet. So far he'd only kept it quiet.

"I'm here bro." Mikey hissed as he opened his door. His determined blue eyes starred up at annoyed amber ones. "We going or what?"

"Shut it!" Raph clenched his fist firmly not to hit his brother until the left the lair. The last thing he wanted was Leo on them for sneaking out. Or Master Splinter, though he couldn't tell which was worse. And especially what they were going up for.

His amber eyes were narrowed as he made his way down the steps towards the front door. He didn't have to worry about Mikey making any noise; his brother was annoying light and nimble on his feet. And Mikey could be quiet when he wanted too – he doubted he wanted to face the music either.

But he was another thing. He was a ninja: steady and firm on his feet while agile and quick. He was the last thing from a ninja with his bulky frame and hard muscles. Out of all his brothers, he weighed the most and was by far the strongest. It came in handy in battle but when trying to sneak out of the lair….not so much,

Carefully placing each foot, he slowly made his way down the steps. He couldn't wait for the sensation of enemies meeting the blade of his sai or the feeling of warm blood gushing from the wounded thug as he dropped to the floor and breathed his last. It was the sweet taste of victory that gave him the rush.

With precise moves, he opened the front door to the lair and motioned for Mikey to head out ahead of him. The orange clad turtle made his way out and with a final look, Raph closed to the door.

TEN MINUTES BEFORE

"Ya sure we won't see any of those green freaks boss?" a man with spiky purple hair and the tattoo of a dragon snaking across his bare chest, asked, glancing around nervously. He'd heard about the turtles…he'd lost his best friend to the one in the red mask.

"I'm sure." Hun smirked. Even as the words left his mouth, he fingered the gun in his pocket. This was supposed to be a hush-hush mission; only him, his goons, and the shadows knew about it.

"I heard they blended in with the shadows though." The man protested.

Hun growled, the noise coming from the back of his throat sounding like an enraged predator. "Get back ta yer job!" he roared, sending the man away with a frightened yelp. Standing towards the side, he watched as his group of Purple Dragons finished unloading the crates from the back of a van and into an "abandoned" warehouse.

A gentle rattle of a trashcan sent him whirling around, his gun drawn as he starred into the blackness of the shadow.

"Come out of there!" he yelled, causing every man in the street to glance up and fear and finger their own weapons.

"Mew?" A black cat with white paws strolled out of the alley, looking up at the towering man with piercing yellow eyes and an unimpressed hiss.

Hun relaxed, kicking at the dirt and sending a rock in the cat's direction. "Get out of here ya stupid bag of bones!"

The cat yowled in surprise as the small rock struck it in the side and took off as a black street, soon vanishing into the dark empty alley.

Hun straightened his shoulders and clenched his teeth, hearing snickering behind him. he whirled around, his face purple with rage. "Who laughed?" he roared.

Silence.

"Better." He muttered. "Now finish the job before I rip out yet yer arms and feed him to the dogs!" he was rewarded with frantic movements as the men hurried back to their jobs.

PRESENT

"Woo!" Mikey let out a soft whistle seeing the group of men scurrying under the building. His orange mask tail whipped around him as he crouched low beside his brother. Raph let out an eager growl at seeing the men below him.

Mikey viewed the men again and an uneasy feeling quickly overtook his excited one. Raph had asked him out; to sneak out with him. He never did that…but since he did Mikey couldn't refuse. Now he wasn't so sure.

"I don't know bro…" he watched the scene below him with uneasy eyes. "Maybe we should call Leo and Don? Or Casey?"

"Casey's out already; didn't answer his phone." Raph answered. "And do ya want to call for help when we can take em all ourselves?" he motioned with his sai towards the group of Dragons below him. "What's wrong? Ya getting scared?"

"No." Mikey answered in his defense. "But I don't like the odds bro." his stomach churned as his mind screamed at them to stop before it was too late…something was going to happen tonight; he could feel it.

"There's ten of em and two of us." Raph said sarcastically. "I've taken out twice this many before…alone."

"Still bro…" Mikey backed away from the edge. "I don't like this idea. We should go home."

"Whatever." Raph rolled his eyes as he drew out both sai's. "Ya go home and whine to mommy Leo while I take care of these goons." With a wild whoop, he leapt from the hiding place and tore into the middle of the men with a battle cry as the men scattered in panic.

Mikey quickly grabbed his chucks in one hand while whipping out his cell. He pressed the small red button and held it to his ear, his breath quickening as he heard the numerous rings.

_Pick up…please someone pick up._

"Hello?" Leo's tired voice drifted over the line.

"Leo!" Mikey screamed.

"Mike?" Leo was instantly awake, hearing the panic in his brother's tone. The phone still pressed firmly to his ear as he began to done his gear while listening to his little brother.

"Leo we need help!" Mikey said as he began to run towards the battle zone. "Raph bit off a bit more than he could chew this time and…" he glanced up fearfully at hearing Raph's roar of pain as a baseball bat was slammed into his shoulder, instantly rendering his right arm useless as the bone broke. "Oh hurry Leo!"

"We're on our way Mikey." Leo said. "Hold on."

With a yell Mikey leapt into the battle, his chucks spinning dizzyingly as the men before he fell to the wood and chains. Right before him, Raph's useless arm was dangly limply as he used kicks and his remaining sai to keep the men at bay. Already his body was covered in small cuts and bruises as he began to tire.

He looked around, shock slowly creeping in on him as men poured from warehouses and trucks like ants on a breadcrumb.

_There weren't this many before_, he thought numbly as he blocked another bat with his sai. He saw his little brother take hits to his arms and legs but kept fighting bravely.

_What have I done?_

He turned around once more as he heard Mikey scream in anguish and the disturbing sound of bones breaking.

"Mikey!" he screamed as he began to fight his way towards his little brother. Mikey was on the floor, holding onto his knee, which was an odd color, and strangely flat. His knee pad had been ripped off from the fight and Raph could see the white of the bone.

Oh shell… the man broke his knee.

Raph threw a small shruiken at the man wearing the steel-toed shoes, hitting him in the heart.

That was for Mikey.

Raph saw numerous hands from the darkness of the night and the steam of the rain grab Mikey and hold him up, and him struggling against the many hands, tears leaking from his eyes as weight was put on his broken knee. Several punches were thrown in his face.

"Mike!" Raph ignored every punch that struck him, bowling down anyone and everyone that stood between him and his little brother. This was his fault…and he was going to make sure Mikey got out alive.

No matter what.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" a towering shadow stepped forward, revealing Hun. He strode towards the orange banded turtle, ignoring Raph as he fought his way through the growing numbers of men.

There was his prey…helpless under his army. He drew his gun from his pocket, twirling it slowly, grinning as he watched the turtle's eyes widen in fear.

"Ya know what this is?" Hun laughed as he pointed it as the frozen turtle. "Yer death!"

"NOOOO!!!" Raph screamed as he threw himself in front on his little brother at the exact second Hun squeezed the trigger. Time slowed as he fell; he felt the punch from the bullet as it left the gun and the smirk of triumph on Hun's face. Then it all went numb.

He didn't feel any pain as he hit the ground, or the chuckle from Hun or the scream from Mikey. He didn't feel the warm liquid running from the small hole in his plastron. All he felt was the strength running madly through his veins, fueled by the anger that boiled in his heart. This man…these people…almost killed Mike, his baby brother. None of them would live to celebrate it…he'd make sure of that.

With a wild scream, he saw red. The battle lasted several minutes, but to him it was mere second. Enemies fell beneath his sai as blood leaked from them as it did him. A part of him screamed at him to stop; that he was injured; but he couldn't, not even with Mikey screaming at him.

He wouldn't.

Not till all lay dead at his feet and their blood ran through the streets.

Finally he didn't feel the flesh beneath his sai as the world gone red cleared up. All at once, he felt unbearable pain in his lower chest, the numerous wounds that scarred his body, and the sudden rain that had started during his fight, pelting his skin and clearing the blood and grime from his body.

He felt the strength leave him as suddenly as it started, and with a sigh, he collapsed to the floor.

Mikey was safe.

And that was all that mattered.

"Raph!" Mikey screamed as he dragged himself forward towards his brother, his dead leg trailing behind him. One second Raph had been fighting madly, as though a whole army gave him strength and energy. The next he was on the floor, his breathing going labored within a second. He'd seen his brother fight more times than he could count, but this battle…Raph was more like a possessed demon with a sai than like a brother fighting to protect another.

"Raph…" Mikey whimpered his name as he reached his brother's side. He pressed bother hands against the hole in his brother's plastron, ignoring the blood that ran through his fingers. His brother's eyes were closed and his body was clammy and cold.

"Raph, can you hear me bro?" Mikey whispered as he leaded down. "Oh Raph answer me…" he felt the beat beneath his hands start to slow as he quickly grabbed hold of his wrist, feeling the failing pulse. He put his hands back on the chest wound to slow the flow of blood. "Raph?"

"Ya okay bro?" Raph's eyes opened a slit as he starred up at Mikey's baby blue eyes, his own clouded in pain.

"Yeah." Mikey sniffed, nodding his head. "I'm okay."

"Good." Raph closed his eyes again.

"RAPH!!" Mikey began to shake his brother's shoulders. The rain began to pour harder as lightning lit up the gruesome scene that surrounded them. "Hold on bro…please hold on." He sobbed.

He looked at Raph's face again. His own pleas were useless…he knew.

Raph was dying.

"Leo and Don are on the way." He babbled. "Don will fix you up for good…oh Raph don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere knucklehead." Raph answered weakly. Summoning his remaining strength, he raised his good hand and pressed his hand against Mikey's plastron. "I'll always be with you…right here."

Mikey just sobbed harder, pressing his head into Raph's hand. Releasing it, he pressed a light kiss to Raph's forehead. "I love ya bro."

"Me too." Raph's eyes closed for what Mikey knew was the last time. His breath slowed and, as Mikey watched, a small smile, a grin of peace, settled on his face.

His plastron rose and settled for the last time as one final breath left his mouth.

The heart stopped.

Mikey didn't know how long he lay there, the rain pelting their bodies, as he lay across his brother's plastron. How long he cried. He felt a hand on his shoulder and a quiet, sad voice.

"It's okay Mikey." Leo looked at him with sad eyes. "It's okay."

TWO DAYS LATER

The wind brushed against the leaves of the tree's as Mikey knelt beneath an old oak.

He had no more tears left. His left leg was bandaged and he moved with crutches.

He remembered that night…the tears…the pain…the blood…and the loss. He rested his hand on the upturned earth and gently dragged his hand across the dirt.

In one hand he held onto his brother's mask, the sai resting on the ground until Mikey picked it up again.

The funeral had been last night…they buried him at Casey's grandmother's house; beneath the very tree Raph always seemed to love the most.

He cried as his brother was laid into the ground, as his body was covered with the earth. Don had carved a small cross with Raph's name on it and stuck it into the head of the grave. They'd all cried…everyone had been there. Usagi, Leatherhead, April and Casey, Angel…everyone who knew about them; who they could call friend had been there. And all cried.

They all said a few words about their memories together.

Mikey stayed silent.

The thoughts, the memories, were his alone. His and Raph's.

They were for him.

The wind blew again and he heard someone laugh quietly behind him.

Mikey smiled…he didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Remember bro…" A hand was rested against his plastron. "Right here."

"I know Raph." Mikey smiled, looking up at his brother's spirit. "I know."

Because every time they battled, blood would be spilled, and he would remember...after all, red always was his favorite color.


End file.
